Title

They Shoot, They Score!

Problem Scenario

I wanted to see if basketball players can make a basket better depending on the way they hold the ball and which height they hold it from.

Broad Question

Is it possible for basketball players to shoot a basketball better depending on the height?

Specific Question

Can basketball players shoot a basketball better from holding the ball at chest height, chin height, or forehead height?

Hypothesis

More baskets will be made from chin height.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Height Basketball Is Held.

Dependent Variable:

Number Of Baskets Made.

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

A Basketball.

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

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General Plan

I am going to test if basketball players can make a better shot in basketball depending on the height they hold the ball from. First I will find volunteers that can shoot the baskets. Next, I will have them shoot from a certain height, five times for each height. Then, I will record the data in a journal and find the average number of baskets from each height.

Potential Problems And Solutions

Someone could get hit with the ball. They could get some ice if that happens.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

No concerns, nothing dangerous included for this experiment.

Experimental Design

What is your experimental unit?

I will be measuring a basketball and how many baskets a player can make.

Number Of Trials:

I will repeat this experiment twice.

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:

I will use three different heights to hold the ball, to see what height is best to shoot at.

Number of Observations:

I will test this experiment with thirteen people.

When data will be collected

I will start doing this experiment on February 11, 2013.

Where will data be collected?:

I will set up the tables and record my data in my science journal.

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Poster Board	1	Staples	$5.00
Basketballs	13	KMS School	$0.00
Camera	1	My House	$0.00

Detailed Procedure

I will get my basketballs from the middle school, and I can find people to help me for the experiment in school. First, I will find people to help me, then schedule a time to use the school gym and basketballs. Next, I will put people in groups and tell them to shoot from a certain height and have them shoot from that height five times. I will repeat this experient twice. I will record the data on a piece of paper, then organize all of the data and find the median for each height.

Diagram

Photo List

I will take pictures of:
The basketball, the basketball players, and the basketball players shooting the basketball.

Time Line

Procedure, timeline, photo list complete- 2/1/2013
Begin experiments no later than- 2/4/2013
Experiments done- 3/1/2013
Analysis- 3/7/2013
Discussion/ Background- 3/15/2013
Wiki complete- 3/15/2013
Posters complete- 3/22/2013
KMS fair- 3/29/2013

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Data Table

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Height:	Chest	Chin	Forehead
Baskets Made	2	3	3
	4	4	5
	2	4	4
	3	4	2
	1	3	2
	3	4	2
	2	3	3
	3	5	3
	2	2	3
	1	3	4
	1	2	1
	4	1	4
	1	5	4
	Chest:	Chin:	Forehead:
Median:	2	3	3

Graph

Photos

Results

After doing my experiment, I collected all my data and calculated the median for each height. The median for chest height was 2, the median for chin height was 3, and the median for forehead height was 3. My results for this experiment shows that the heights basketball players can shoot best at is chin height and forehead height. My hypothesis was partly right, I guessed that people could shoot better from chin height.My hypothesis was partly right because people can shoot better from chin height, but people can also shoot better from the forehead height. I think people can't shoot better at chest height because that is usually the height you pass the basketball to someone. I think people can shoot better from chin and forehead height because te posittion is comfortable, and that's the height you usually shoot the ball from. Also maybe because the ball is closer to the basket and it's just natural to shoot from heights around your chin and forehead. This is why I ammume that people can shoot a basketball better from your chest and forehead heights.

Conclusion

My conclusion is that basketball players can shoot better from chin height and above. If you go and lower than your chin height, it will be a little harder to shoot. It will be a little harder to shoot from any height below your chin because that is the height you usually pass the basketball to someone else. It is also natural to shoot a ball from height above you chin. Also if you play basketball, you are taught to shoot from a height is higher than the height you pass the basketball from. I conclude that basketball players can shoot a basketball better from your chin height or above.

Discussion

My experiment went pretty much as I planned it. I had some troubles with finding a good time to use the school gym for my experiment, but I finally worked it out and got it done. Also, it was a little hard to find people to help me with my experiment, but soon enough I found a group of friends to do the experiment with me. I repeated my experiment twice, having some kids do the experiment both times, and some only once. I think my experiment could have been better if I narrowed down the different heights. I could have just chose two heights and tested to see which was easier to shoot a basketball from. Otherwise, my experiment went as I planned it, and it worked out pretty well!

Benefit to Community and/or Science

This experiment could help basketball players become better. This could help them because people that play basketball would have a better chance of making a basket in a game.

Background Research

I got my experiment idea off the website called Science Buddies. I looked over the objective and changed up a few of the ways to do my experiment.

References

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Sports_p010.shtml

Abstract

I chose to do my experiment based on basketball. What I did for my project was to find out if you have a better chance of making a basket depending on the height you hold the basketball from. First, I chose three different heights to shoot the ball from: chest, chin, and forehead height. Next, I scheduled a time to use my school gym to test this experiment. Then, I found a group of friends to help me with the experiment, while I took pictures and recorded the data. I then calculated the median for each of the heights by using the number of baskets people made out of five shots. My hypothesis was people would shoot better from the chin height, but the forehead height had the same median as the chin height. I guessed that both forehead and chin heights were easier to shoot from because it's natural to shoot from heights around those areas. Your chest height is usually where you pass the basketball around to someone else. This is how I figured out that it is easier to shoot a basketball from heights around your chin and forehead.